Supplementation: Creating the Right Protocol For Peak Body Function

Image: Optimise

Before taking any supplementation advice from Optimise, it is best advised to contact a doctor or medical professional. Not everyone needs to use every kind of supplement, so using the necessary precautions is advised when introducing a protocol for supplementation.

The first thing to remember with creating a supplementation protocol is, it is not the key to optimising your health. However, if implemented properly, supplementation can provide important vitamins and minerals, decrease inflammation in the body, improve sleep, and facilitate properly functioning hormone levels as well as general cognition. This article is derived from research by Dr Andrew Huberman, Stanford neuroscientist, thus is well informed for the creation of a perfect protocol for supplementation.

The primary foundation of mental and physical health comes down to behavioural tools, such as seeing sunlight, sleep, fitness, intake of caffeine and other such factors. The second most important step to improving all facets of health and performance is nutrition, which must be first optimised before a focus on supplementation begins. While there are supplements that are used as food or meal replacements (such as whey protein, fish oils etc), these should not be used to replace food or meals, but instead must be leveraged to hit macro or micronutrient goals. Eating a whole-food diet is of the upmost importance to health optimisation.

Foundational Supplements:

The gut-microbiome is incredibly important for the function of a strong and healthy body. A properly functioning gut should enhance your immune system, thus foundational supplements can be important in providing key vitamins and minerals in the body to support the gut. The best supplement for this can be found in fermented foods and drinks, which not only enhance the immune system through the gut, but also play a key part in reducing inflammation in the body. Research shows that around four servings of fermented food, whether that is kefir, kombucha, kimchi or sauerkraut, is the perfect daily-dose for gut-microbiome support. Gut, and immune support can also be found in the form of supplemental prebiotic or probiotic capsules (refrigerated variety works better than others). Ongoing usage of such supplements can, however, lead to brain fog, so if you experience this, lower your dose of the pre or probiotic until a proper functioning cognition returns.

Sleep Supplements:

Sleep is the single most important pillar to proper function of the body, along with health and performance. See the Optimise tips for optimising sleep through behavioural tools here. The most effective, well-tested and proven supplement for sleep support, in this case meaning support to fall asleep, is magnesium, in the form of either magnesium bisglycinate or magnesium threonate. Both of which will help you initially get to sleep. If you find yourself awakening during the night, the primary supplement for assisting keeping asleep is myo-Inositol, which is proven to shorten time taken to fall back asleep, as well as having applications for assisting mood.

Hormone Supplements:

Hormones are another important pillar of physical and mental health, and some of which benefit greatly from supplemental support. Testosterone augmentation can be important for young men in assisting with mood and bodily functions. Supplements such as maca root, fadogia agrestis, tongkat ali and ashwagandha have proven to result in increases in testosterone and libido, however in ashwagandha this is an indirect pathway of its use, it is best used for those suffering with anxiety. For such supplementation, do not exceed the product label dosages, as this can result in damage to the testes. For fadogia agrestis, it is best recommended to cycle the supplement every eight weeks, taking a two-week rest from the supplement in between usage. Evidence from extensive blood work can show you how to supplement with these through learning what is best to take and where to adjust dosages, however this can be costly. To increase growth hormone, which is important for proper function of the muscles and bones, while sleep and caloric control is important, supplementing with arginine before bed has shown to improve the production of the hormone. Avoiding caloric intake (as well as alcohol and cannabis) within two hours of sleep has shown to drastically increase growth hormone, as well as longer periods of fasting having an effect also.

Cognition Supplementation:

While sleep is paramount to focus and cognition, supplementation can also benefit cognition, mood, alertness, and focus. Caffeine can be used as a useful supplement for increasing alertness and focus, as well as adrenaline increasers such as yohimbine and rauwolscine being beneficial to this. Despite this, it is not recommended to take caffeine or any alertness inducers from 5pm onwards. Omega-3 fatty acids have proven to lead to greater brain health in young people, improving mood as well as metabolic support. For the Optimise’s breakdown of WHO’s report on brain health optimisation click here.

Supplementation Protocol:

For a rational supplementation protocol, focus first on your sleep, diet, activity, and other behaviours first. Aim for single-ingredient formulations when supplementing for hormones and sleep, this will enable you to properly control supplementation and intake of different compounds. From here, you can rule out what doesn’t work, and find the minimal effective dose for you. This is, however, a personal journey, so proper analysis of blood work is important as earlier mentioned. On top of this, listening to your body is a valued tool to leverage and asking important questions such as: Am I getting enough quality sleep? Is my libido high enough for a young man? Am I alert enough during the day? For an in-depth report of your sleep and activity, look into investing into fitness wearables such as a Whoop strap, a Garmin or an Apple watch.